White-bellied Pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) Nest Box Activity Budgets And Behavior Milestones

White-bellied pangolins (Phataginus tricuspis) are semi-arboreal mammals from equatorial Africa. Listed as endangered by the IUCN, their population is under severe threat due to illegal hunting for their meat and scales. Many aspects of pangolin behavior, particularly maternal and early pup behavior, remain largely undocumented. Gathering behavioral data for both the dam and pup allows for the development of baseline rates of maternal and pup behavior as well as the setting of early behavioral milestones. This study defined and quantified early maternal and pup behavioral trends inside the nesting box for zoo-housed, white-bellied pangolins. Data were collected from August 2018 to January 2022. Videos were recorded for 24-hours every fourth day (e.g., Day 1, Day 4, Day 8, etc.) for the first 30 days of life. The behaviors of six dam-pup pairs (four male pups and two female pups) were scored to develop activity budgets, describe maternal behaviors, and define early behavioral milestones. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare nocturnal and diurnal hours. Pairs spent the majority of their time curled in a ball together and were more active at night than during the day. Dams spent the majority of their time in contact with the pup with occasional separations as early as the first day of life. Pups were born precocial and engaged in digging and nosing under the dam’s scales as early as the first day of life. These behavioral observations and milestones can be used as a baseline when monitoring future dam-pup pairs, to enhance husbandry protocols, and to assess the welfare of both dams and pups.